The Philippine House of Representatives voted on May 11 to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, advancing the case to the Senate for a trial. The vote was based on two impeachment complaints filed in February alleging misuse of funds and other offenses.
According to the news outlet Rappler, 257 members of the 318-seat House voted in favor of the impeachment articles, with 25 opposing and nine abstaining. The vote came one week after the House Justice Committee found probable cause in the complaints against Duterte. The proceedings will now move to the 24-member Senate, where a two-thirds vote is required to remove an official from office.
The articles of impeachment allege that Duterte misused 612.5 million pesos (approximately $10 million) in confidential funds in her capacities as vice president and secretary of education. The complaints also cite allegations of unexplained wealth, bribery, and a public threat made against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other officials.
In a statement following the vote, Duterte’s legal team said it was “fully prepared to defend the vice president before the Senate” and stated it would be “incumbent upon the prosecution to discharge the burden of proof.”
This marks the second time the House has voted to impeach Duterte. In February 2025, the House passed a separate impeachment resolution with 215 votes. That case, which included similar allegations of corruption and violation of public trust, was dismissed by the Supreme Court in July 2025. The court’s decision cited a constitutional provision that prohibits more than one impeachment proceeding against the same official within a one-year period.
The impeachment proceedings occur amid public political divisions between Vice President Duterte and President Marcos Jr. The two ran on a single ticket and were elected in 2022. Since taking office, political disagreements have emerged between their respective camps. In March 2025, the Marcos administration authorized Philippine police to act on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for the arrest of Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, in connection with his administration’s “war on drugs.”
As the impeachment case moves to the Senate, a recent change in the chamber’s leadership has been noted. On May 11, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, an ally of the Duterte family, was installed as Senate President, replacing Senator Vicente Sotto III. The news outlet PhilStar Global reported that the leadership change occurred “amid swirling rumors that the coup was orchestrated to block an impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.”
If the Senate convicts Duterte, she would be removed from her position and barred from holding public office.
